Trade Union Strategies against Healthcare Marketization: Opportunity Structures and Local-Level Determinants

Marketization in the healthcare sector affects the quality and delivery of care, as well as healthcare workers' working conditions. This book examines how trade unions respond to marketization processes and the determinants of successful strategies. It draws on a rich empirical study to develop a theoretical framework that accounts for sector-specific opportunity structures and local-level leeway. It identifies determinants of successful trade union strategies, explains the puzzling observation of similar strategic choices across different systems, and draws conclusions for prospects of trade unionism in the marketized healthcare sector.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 198 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The impact of marketization on the healthcare sector is far-reaching, affecting not only the quality and delivery of care but also the working conditions of healthcare workers. In order to understand how trade unions respond to these marketization processes and develop successful strategies, a comprehensive comparison of England and Germany, along with an in-depth case study of New York, USA, is undertaken in this volume.

The author employs a rich empirical study to develop a theoretical framework that accounts for the unique opportunity structures arising from marketization processes and the local-level leeway available to unions when they build up and mobilize the available resources and capacities. The book identifies the key determinants of successful trade union strategies, explains the puzzling observation of similar strategic choices across different systems, and draws conclusions for the prospects of trade unionism in the marketized healthcare sector.

This book emphasizes the transformative effect of marketization on healthcare and the opportunities it creates for unions, while also giving special attention to the local-level conditions of trade unionism in the analysis of conflicts evolving around marketization in the hospital sector. It is of interest to academics and practitioners working in healthcare management, human resource management, and employment relations.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032043302